INDIA.

Colonist, Issue 43, 19 March 1858, Page 3

INDIA.

On the 6th of Januaiy, an entprtainmcn^ was given to the European soldiery by.tliQ natives of Bombay. In noticing .the speeqh of Lord Elphih'stone on that occasjpn, the Telegraph and Courier says:—"lt, embodies the sentiments of the English nation, and is as frank and manly as the occasion demanded. England has, a terrible and mournful duty to perform ; ,but it is not a mission of wild vengeance, b.iit of stern and retributive justice.*. The extermination of the guilty is a work which both instinct anc| reason imperatively demands. Our1 soldiers are landing upon these shores, not to wage a war of race, but to inflict a summary vengeance upon the greatest miscreants that ever disgraced the world. It is a shameless falsehood on the part of the organ of young Bombay—the Bombay Time,s—f,q say that the Indian Press ever, entertained, any other sentiments save those which Lord Elphinstone so nobly expressed on the evening ( of, the Cth instant. With scarcely one exception, the motto of the Press has been—smite the guilty, but spare the innocent. _ We censured Lord Canning's clemenc3'-proclamation, simply because it was uncalled for, and anjnsult.to the brave men who, were fighting our country's 'battle;;. It would have been quite time enough for the Governor-General to havo issued his warning when he saw any disposition on the part of our troops to confound s the innocent with the .guilty. So far, lio.wevcr,. from this being the,case, we defy even the most vehement detractors of the British army to point to a single instance of license, or outrage. At Delhi we killed only sepoys; and our soldiers went amongst the houses to search for them—the citizens having affor.dcd jthem every facility for concealment. InOude, it is true, we destroyed, so me. few villages, but we had ample, testimony that; they were full of deep-dyed traitors., . We.found, the relics of our butchered countrymen amongst them, and we laid them in ashes, as Sodom and Gomorrah were, of old. On this side of India, whero.the revolt has not only been, military but civil, jip man lias been lcilled —save in action—without having a fairtrial ; and the consequence is,, that manjf rogues are now at liberty, who ought long ago to have been hanged!. -We believe there are few who entertain any doubt of the guilt of the Poona Moulvie, yet he is still alive and likely soon to be at liberty! In no single instance has' the law been set aside, and yet. a^ cjamour is raised that we wish to decimate the empire. Out of thq One hundred aui fifty millions whom we govern, scarcelly half a million have rebelled, and yet a cry is raised that we wish* to destroy the whole for the sake" of the remnant. If Young Bombay /; eriter"tairisj such apprehensions, wo are afraid its conscience must be pricking it; as it is only the guilty who fear punishment.- Englanci will not only be just but generous. The chiefs and people who succoured her in her hour of need, will claim her eternal grati r tude. Scindia, Holkar, and the Rajas of Bhownuggur and Puttiala, will hencefortli be regarded as trusty bulwarks of our empire, and be honored and rewarded accordingly. Our rulers have vigilant eyes, and they are well acquainted with all the doubt-, fnl and lukewarm. They are.not blind to the slanders which they have levelled against their countrymen, and the reckonI ing day will arrive in time. We have no [ wish to enter into any controversy with the paper which has' lately excited so mucli dissension amongst us; but we cannot allow it to publish libels against our countrymen. If the editor is base enough to publish slanders against the European Press,and to lower the many for the exaltation of the few. wo think tliat it is right that the public should be made acquainted with the fact. Englishmen are justly incensed at atrocities which have been committed. Wherever they go, they find vacant places and mourning hearts; and they would be less than men were they not to sympathise with those who have been bereaved. Journalists have expressed themselves in, words that burn; but it is sirrfply a libel and a lie to say that they have ever recommended an indiscriminate slaughter." We hear from Allahabad, the 19th instant, that five hundred Europeans, with two guns, went off that morning to attack a large body of rebels, who have entrenched themselves in and about a fort on the Jnmna, some forty miles off, called Kutwah. The writer adds, " the investigation about the jewels is proceeding. What a shame, after the way in which these poor people defended Lucknow!" — Calcutta Englishman, December 26.

We have had letters from Deesa, and hear that the-< field force under1 the command of ' Major Raines, 11. M. 95th Regiment, left . on the 2nd, en route to Nusserabad. Besides the wing of the 1 Oth N. L, the wing of 11. M. 95th, Captain Aiken's battery of artillery, and llth Company Royal Engineers, it was joined at Deesa by a seigo train of six guns' from Ahmedabed under, Lieutenant Peechell, Artillery, and Major Taylor's troop' of 2nd Light Cavalry, with a large quantity of engineer and park tools. On the 6th a portion of the force was detached, at a place called Muddar, to a village in the hills ten miles distant, called Rowa, in the Seroh district; the residence of a disaffected ThakooV, who had entrenched and fortified himself. We "hear that the orders were to destroy and bufti the place, which was accomplished, though not without much resistance on the part of the natives, who are said to have been 1000 strong, with two guns. The party of about 400 men, who were commanded by Major Raines' in person, accomplished the task by four o'clock, and returned •to camp-"at Muddar by nine. Lieutenant Macquay, Engineers, wounded severely;" Captain ■ Macgowan, 20th N. 1., severely ;• Captain! Froster, 95th Regiment, slightly'; Lieutenantßurd, 10th N. 1., slightly; two men,; 95th, one dangerously, receiving five sabre cats (two on the head), and one severely; \ 6ilo naiqiie arid five' privates, 10th N; If

(one since dead); and one civilian (Mr. Kelly) severely: Tlie whole of the severely Wounded have arrived- at Deesa for-treat-irierit:;' The"force; proceeded on its way on the Bth; its destination is, we believe, Ko'tah arid Awah. : Meerut, December 28.—Mr. Wilson Writer, "That Mr. Samuel Edward Erith, Head Writer Budaori Collector's officej hasbeen rescued,, and that he is safe in his c&ni\\"—Mbficssilite Extra, December 30. . The: Bombay Gazette of 13th January, s^ys :—.Consequent on the return of Mr. Aclam, Private Secretary to the Governor, Colonel Rates has resumed his appointment on the Personal Staff.: Captain the Viscßunt Dagon, Coldstream Regiment of Guards, "is appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Right. Honorable the Governor, vice Captain Peele, who has joined bis regiment on field service/ Lieutenant Colonel J. Grant, Principal Commissary of Ordnance, is to act as Inspector-General of Ordnance and Magazines, arid Lieutenant Colonel G. Hutt, C.8., to act for Lieutenant Colonel Grant as Principal' Commissary of Ordnance, du-. ring: the.absence of Colonel M. F. Willoughby, C.8., on medical certificate to England. Cawnpore, December 14.—We arrived here last evening. • Sir Colin proceeds against Fuityghur to-morrow mornirig. -A force Stands fast at Bithore, and we are ordered to remain to protect Cawripore. As soon as Futtyghur is smashed, which won't take long, the road to Agra will be clear, and faney '.you will have a visit from some three or.' four thousand of us, — 3fofussiKte, December 22. ' . , . . ] . 'The Calcutta Englishman says it is generally reported that the Nana Sahib has been taken prisoner; he was in disguise, but as he is so well known tp' many officers his identity can be readily proved; his two brothers should be sent dovvn to Calcutta. .The King of Delhi is in custody of H.M. f>2nd, and it is expected he will soon be at Ferozepore, en route to Bombay, where steps . will be taken to prevent his ever . being mischievous again. The Prime Minister appears to be still at large; he is one who lias played no inconsiderable part in the Delhi massacre; a large reward' should be put.on his head. Truly, the rule and. sovereignty of the Great Mogulwere short. . The following is from the Calcutta Gazette of .19th December:—The Maha Raja Jung Bahadoor, Prime Minister and Commander- ; in-Chief of Nepal, will shortly enter\ the plains of Hindoostan, at the head of a large force, destined to co-operate with the British troops in the restoration of order in the British provinces. ' A Havildar of the rebel force was executed at Cawnpore on the 19 th of Deceniber. Before his death he made a sort of statement, concerning the recent movements of the Oude rebels. . Nana Sahib is said never tp have been at Lucknow. Bhotah Sahib, the brother of Nana Sahib, joined the Gwalior troops.at Culpee on the 18th .ultimo, and was received with a salute of twenty-one guns. He appears to have nominally commanded the force, and had brie "Surdiah Pandy" as his, right hand man. The second in command was "Tothea Tpgrah.". The rebel force is said to have been composed, of half of the Gwalior Contingent; some of Scindiah's own troops; a portion of the Dinapore mutineers; a large body of troops from Furrackabad sent iri.by the Nuwab of that place, and a number of men -from Oude. The Rajahs of Gopalpore and the" Zemindar Tongrah " are said to have assisted, both with guns and men.— Poona Observer, January 2."

We are likely soon to hear of some stining work on the Nizam's Frontier. The Shorapoor Raja has at length declared, himself, and. Kerr and his men are off to bring him to book. The force coming from Kurnool to assist in the work is composed as follows: 17012 th Lancers, 100 Artillery, 1000 Her Majesty's 43rd, 450 Mysore Horse.-—- Bombay Telegraph, January 9.